Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Pirates, Super Heroes, Grammar, and FREEBIES!

Everyone needs a grammar review every now and then, even pirates!Oops! I mean especially pirates! After all, we do seem to have a problem

with the verb, "to be".

A year after I retired, I broke my right foot. (After so many years sea bound, it was difficult to walk like a landlubber!) Having to be confined to quarters for a quite a while, I contacted my 4th grade teammates begging

them to give me something to work on. As it turned out, they requested teaching units to cover the 4th grade Common Core grammar standards. Of course, there were class sets of language handbooks in their classrooms, and although the adopted basal program included weekly lessons, they didn't completely line up with the CCSS. So when my mateys threw down the gauntlet, I accepted their challenge!

Now grammar isn't the most fun subject to teach or learn. It also isn't easy to comprehend. I had to come up with some way to grab the students' attention and be able to explain the sometimes complicated grammar concepts in an easy way to understand. What I needed were Super Heroes! Who doesn't like Super Heroes? Superman, Batman, Ironman, Captain America, Thor! Muscles and brains! Of course, I didn't really need too much muscle, but I did need brains. As a result, the Super Grammar Kids were created.

I'm not an artist so I went in search of Super Hero clipart. There were lots of choices on TpT, but as soon as I came across ReviDevi's kiddo heroes, I knew I had found my Super Grammar Kids.Included in each grammar unit bundle is a slideshow to introduce and explain the grammar concept. The slides are interactive to keep students focused and engaged. Below is one animated slide from the Modal Auxiliaries unit explaining how "can" is used as a modal auxiliary. Notice in the last slide illustration that students are asked to share with their partners something they "can" do.

These next slide examples provide practice in using modal auxiliaries.

Another component of the units are practice activities such as Sorts, Task Cards, and Games. For example, included in the Modal Auxiliary unit is a board game, Modals Magic Carpet Ride, in which students compete to be the first to arrive at Modal City by selecting the correct modal auxiliaries to complete sentences. Most units also include an assessment.

This school year I am busy working on the 3rd grade Common Core grammar standards. You lucky readers can download these Grammar Freebies from my TpT store!

While there check out the unit bundles: Noun Jobs, What are Verbs?, and Modal Auxiliaries Bundle. Click on the images below.